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Sack by sack week 4

*****************************************Once again, our weekly breakdown of each sack….
Sack #1
1st quarter - 7:13 - 3rd down and 12 - Shotgun - 4 WRs (TE slot) - RB flanked right - 5 man rush VIDEO HERE
Colon: LDE Johnson is down across from Colon on LOS and drops into coverage - Colon doesn’t block anyone off the snap but helps chip Pryce (who lined up at NT) with Simmons
Simmons: Does good job on NT Pryce
Hartwig: Retreats from LOS of scrimmage, trying to form pocket from the inside and keep anything from coming up the middle - left with no one to block as NT Pryce crossed left and Kemo picked up ILB blitz from Scott
Kemo: Does good job taking on ILB Scott on the blitz
Smith: Gets good positioning on OLB Suggs and foces him inside where there is plenty of help from Kemo and Hartwig
Davis: Does adequate job picking up OLB rush from Barnes - pushes him outside to form pocket for Ben to step up but doesn’t really finish block
Ben: Recognizes blitz right away but is unable to avoid unblocked safety Ivy
Observations:
Ward is open in the slot but the communication isn’t there to take advantage of Ward vs. Ray Lewis (from middle of field). Very good blocking minus unblocked safety who was on the LOS across from slot receiver Ward
Sack 1 Breakdown:

This sack is the poster boy for the issues the Steelers have had protecting the QB since 2006. Defensive schemes that create unblocked blitzers and leave offensive linemen with nobody to block. Bottom line with this play is that there was a mismatch the Steelers HAD TO EXPLOIT to burn the blitz ( which was an uncovered Hines Ward in the slot). If the ball is delivered to Ward on time, I think this play is a success. I have to speculate, but it looked to me like Ben was looking at Hines, and Hines wasn’t looking at him. Because of the mis-communication (upfront and in the secondary), it’s hard for me to pin this on a specific player without knowing individual responsibilities, but it seems Ward should have had better football IQ and awareness in this instance and should have been looking for the ball.

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Sack #2

2nd quarter - 3:48 - 1st down and 10 - 2 TE’s strong right - single back - 2 WR’s - 4 man rush
VIDEO HERE
Colon: Doesn’t show good feet or quickness off the snap but does recover pretty well and uses his upper body strength to push LDE Pryce inside and away from collapsing pocket
Simmons: Decent job initiating on NT Ngata, who quickly backs off block to man LOS in middle of the field
Hartwig: Has nobody man-up on him at LOS - takes Ngata after Simmons pushes him along and Ngata backs off the line of scrimmage
Kemo: Does an excellent job on DT Bannan - unfortunately he steps on Ben’s foot as play gets started
Smith: After good initial positioning on RDE Suggs, he gets powered back after losing leverage. Suggs
shows great power reaching over and around Marvel here to get a hand on Ben’s jersey, and eventually completely shedding Smith for the sack
Observations:
Ben lost his shoe, which clearly effected not only his dropback, but also any ability he may have had to elude the pass-rush. For most of his career Ben has showed quicker feet in his drops than to let Kemo step on him on a routine pass protection where Kemo did nothing out of the norm…. still and accident though.
Sack 2 Breakdown:
I expect Ben to get out from under center faster than he did, but Smith simply got beat by Suggs on this play and it cost the Steelers a sack.

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Sack #3
2nd quarter - 2:26 - 3rd and 11 - 3 WR’s left - TE standing up to right - RB flanked right - 4 man rush
VIDEO HERE
Colon: Good job recognizing the overload blitz from the left side of the defense - keys on his responsibility
Simmons: Initiates contact with LDE Pryce before pushing him off to Hartwig - helps out with OLB Johnson behind pocket
Hartwig: DT head up drops into coverage - does decent job on Pryce after Simmons passes him on
Kemo: Blocks no one
Smith: Does good enough job on Suggs to keep him outside of pocket
Davis: Is keyed up against LB Scott and is unable to maintain block, although he did do his part in pushing Scott out to form a pocket
Observations:
Ben had Holmes open for a 1st down had he been a little more patient in the pocket; Ben fumbled the ball and Colon fell on it…..I think this was the play that Simmons popped his achilles.
Sack 3 Breakdown:

At first watching this sack, I wanted to pin it on Davis, simply because he didn’t finish Bart Scott off. But when I saw the 2nd angle from behind the offense on the TV broadcast, it was pretty evident to me that Davis did his part to create a pocket for Ben, as did everyone else on the field. In fact, Ben had a great alley to step and throw to a wide open Holmes, and instead tried to scamble to his right, right into the pressure. This sack was on Ben - a little more patience and this could have been a big play.